RSABG is the largest botanic garden dedicated to California native plants.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Hunting for Botanical Biodiversity, Joshua Tree National Park

Lost Palms Oasis, Joshua Tree National Park

Imagine if we could gather together an enthusiastic multitude of
biologists and interested citizens to comb through a location on a
single weekend, seeking to identify every living thing that occurs in
that one spot. Think of how much we could learn about ecological
complexity, and of how the dimension of our knowledge of that place
would unfold like a Chinese fan. It is like we are taking a biological
snapshot, capturing a record of everything that is there at that point
in time. Holding such a gathering is the aim of a “Bioblitz”, or
Biodiversity Hunt: to positively identify as many species as possible
over a day or two in a delineated area.
Staff at Joshua Tree National Park organized a series of four
Biodiversity Hunts over the past three years, assembling more than 100
people to search, identify, and report on the biological richness of the
park’s desert wetlands, the focus of this project. Rancho Santa Ana
Botanic Garden (RSABG) botanists have been present at all four of these
hunts, applying their botanical expertise to assist the National Park to
identify plant species that reside within their boundaries, and more
generally benefiting knowledge of Southern California’s botanical
richness.

In March and April a group of botanists from the Garden, including Naomi
Fraga, Sarah Degroot, Evan Meyer, Abby Hird, Loraine Washburn and
Jessica Chu participated in the last two of these four Biodiversity
Hunts. We spent four full days in Joshua Tree, doing thorough surveys
for plants that occur around Cottonwood Springs and the Lost Palms
Oasis, near the south entrance, and in Smithwater Canyon in the
northwest of the Park. We joined birders, herpetologists, entomologists,
and arachnologists, as well as students, photographers, and interested
community members in a wide-ranging survey of these remarkable desert
wetlands.

In March at Cottonwood Springs and Lost Palms Oasis, RSABG botanists
fanned out into the washes and slopes, identifying common and dominant
species as well as hunting for microsites where less common elements
might be found, such as against a north-facing cliff face, in a more
humid seep, or where the soil became richer in clay. We appreciated the
shade of palms and cottonwoods as we hunted along the edges of the
pools, where we found ferns (Cheilanthes covillei), rushes (Juncus acutus), and orchids (Epipactis gigantea) in the wetter parts of the oases.

By the end of the March weekend, the collected effort of all bio-hunters
had identified more than 558 species, including more than 200 species
of plants and 300 species of insects, as well as 32 bird species, 12
reptiles, seven mammals, and one amphibian species. For our part, we
found many plant species that had not been documented before for this
location in the Park, and at least one species that was new to the
Joshua Tree park plant list.

The April Biodiversity Hunt at Smithwater Canyon focused on one of
Joshua Tree National Park’s richest areas for plant diversity, due to
its higher elevation, perennial water flow, and steep canyon walls that
form diverse microhabitats for plants, as well as its location in the
transition between the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. We were fortunate on
Friday to be joined by Tasha La Doux, a Ph.D. graduate of RSABG’s
program, who now divides her time between Joshua Tree and the Sweeney
Granite Mountains Desert Research Center in the Mojave. We were also
joined by Darryl Slate, an enthusiastic and knowledgeable amateur
botanist who lives near the park. In our two day hunt at Smithwater
Canyon we found 160 species of plant, both common and rare species, as
well as contributing the sole sighting of a speckled rattlesnake to the
reptile list. Due to the dry spring in the desert, the abundance of
spring annuals has been quite modest throughout the Park, resulting in
an under-representation of total plant diversity.

Earth’s biological richness belongs to all of us. A deep appreciation of
the biodiversity of a place can stem from an understanding of the
geological and biological history of that place, and can also help the
human population of the planet deepen its connection to the other
species that share their piece of the planet. We hope, also, that
encouraging people to know the organisms around them will deepen their
caring for wild species enduring presence on Earth. RSABG’s conservation
efforts aim to increase the chances that California’s flora survives
intact to the world of our great-grandchildren. Field studies such as
our Biodiversity Hunt participation at Joshua Tree helps this effort by
assuring that we know what grows where, while also helping federal
resource managers do their job effectively, by helping them to know more
about the biological diversity they are protecting.

This hunting has as wide the past as its match. The countries have now realized huge enjoys their access to Third World genetic resources. This is perhaps most clear with crop plants. Few of the crops that today make the US an agricultural power. European pioneers found Native Americans growing maize and squash but they had introduced these crops. A meal would consist some sunflowers and chestnuts. The true genetic lack is only less striking currants and raspberries make up the balance of major crops native to that region.The crops that one link today with the agricultural wealthiest of the urban nations has fact been launched from their areas of origin in what are now the nations of the Third World. The agricultural development that has under the industrialization of the rich. But they have based gene poor North on the set of genetic resources from the poor but gene rich South.The value of Third World genetic resources for developed nation agriculture’s is being enhanced by coming out of biotechnology. The chemical structure of the genetic code is equal in all species. I trust a like best work from you later on also. Truth is told your creative writing abilities have helped me to begin my own blog now. Truly the blogging is spreading its wings quickly. Your write up is a fine case of it. It was crystal clear and I will go on sharing. For more info you can use this best essay writing service to having a superb helper in writing and even you can get the strategy too.

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